Family Justice Center would be drain on county resources

June 28, 2006|GREG KAUFFMAN

St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak published a Michiana Point of View April 26 seeking community support for a new Family Justice Center. As Dvorak's opponent in the Nov. 7 election, I am compelled to voice my opinion on this issue. Dvorak urged the taxpayers of St. Joseph County to support this project based upon the construction of similar centers in large urban areas. Dvorak asked the taxpayers to drain this county's cash reserves to purchase a $3.2 million building to house this venture. To support his position that we need this costly new addition to the prosecutor's office, Dvorak used the well-known murder of Lisa Bianco. As most people in this county remember, Bianco was murdered by her ex-husband, Alan Matheney, just outside her own home in Mishawaka in 1989. What Dvorak failed to point out is that Matheney was furloughed from prison without Bianco's knowledge. At the time of her death, she had no warning or any idea she was in danger. In fact, since that horrible date, Indiana's Department of Corrections has stopped furloughing dangerous and violent offenders. Similarly, Dvorak said he hoped opening of this center would reduce domestic violence homicides. However, he offered no evidence that this expensive project will accomplish this goal. It seems to me that the taxpayers of this county are entitled to more than the "hope" and speculation of one person before footing the bill for this project. (The St. Joseph County Council voted May 9 to cap the price the county would pay for the First Bank Building at $2.5 million, essentially killing the project at that site. Advocates for establishing a Family Justice Center now are seeking a different site, possibly one that the county will lease. -- Editor) Not only had Dvorak failed to make a case for the need for his costly venture, he had failed to recognize what an extraordinarily bad deal he was attempting to foist on taxpayers. The purchase price of the First Bank Building exceeded $3 million. The $1.2 million grant allowed $500,000 to be used for the building purchase which left the county to pay the remainder. (According to federal rules, the grant money still can be used, just not for rent. -- Editor) Dvorak wanted us to believe that we would not have spent another dime on his project. Who would have managed the building and would they have done it for free? Why would we want our county becoming a landlord and dealing with vacancies? Look around downtown South Bend. There are plenty of vacant office buildings. How did Dvorak expect the county to pay for the building when the tenants move out? One must question Dvorak's motives when we see such a case made for his Family Justice Center, and the fleecing of the taxpayers that would have surely accompanied it. One need only read a little bit between the lines of Dvorak's column to surmise his true inspiration for this venture. He claimed to have secured a $1.2 million grant from the federal government toward the opening of the center. Dvorak proposed that only $500,000 of this money would have gone towards the purchase of the new building. He told us not to worry about the rest because it will come from our county's "unobligated reserve cash funds." Dvorak failed to mention what he would do with the remaining $700,000 his office would be receiving. I think the taxpayers are entitled to know just how he would be spending this bundle while they were being fleeced out of their cash reserves. I have a better, cheaper, and more sensible solution to assist with the problem of domestic violence in this county. How about a prosecutor who quickly, competently and effectively prosecutes crime? With Dvorak at the helm for the past three years, the prosecutor's office has limited the access of victims in misdemeanor domestic violence cases to only one day a week -- Tuesday. Other less serious offenses are handled on a daily basis in traffic and misdemeanor court. This scheduling is not done at the request of the courts or the victims, but purely as a matter of convenience for the prosecutor's office. Maybe if Dvorak's office spent less time chasing federal grant money and more time in court prosecuting alleged criminals he could better serve this community. Currently, a victim in a domestic violence case must wait an average of 10 months to have his or her day in court. An alarming number of cases are dismissed after this long delay, due to memory loss or victims' losing their desire to continue the fight. As a member of this community I want a change. I want a prosecutor who will roll up his sleeves and get down to business. If elected prosecutor, I promise to make fighting crime my No. 1 priority. Greg Kauffman is the Republican nominee for St. Joseph County prosecutor.